Seniors life insurance canada

EVELETH, Minn. — Travis Paulson lay in bed, miserable with what felt like a bad case of the flu. He had known that not taking insulin for his Type 1 diabetes would leave him sick and in pain, Paulson says now. He didn’t know that he might not live until he could again afford his insulin. “Now I know that people have died from this,” the 46-year-old Eveleth man said last week. “You can die from diabetic ketoacidosis in hours, not days or weeks or months. I could have easily died in my sleep and didn’t know it.” Earlier in his life, Paulson went through that experience nine or 10 times, he said. It wasn’t because of stubbornness or a strange desire to see what would happen. It was because he simply couldn’t afford the insulin that kept him alive. Now he’s on disability, with Medicare coverage and living with his mother in the modest house he grew up in a block from Eveleth-Gilbert Senior High School. He now can afford the $700 a … [Read more...] about Minnesota man wants to know why insulin costs $40 in Canada, $350 in US

By Allison Martell and Anna Mehler Paperny TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian pharmaceutical industry lobby groups, in an effort to head off a planned crackdown on prescription drug prices, offered to give up C$8.6 billion (£5.1 billion) in revenue over 10 years, freeze prices or reduce the cost of treating rare diseases, according to interviews and documents seen by Reuters. Those industry offers did not impress federal officials, coming last year as Canada prepared to expand the powers of a little-known federal watchdog called the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. The government proposals would change the countries Canada compares its prices to, dropping the United States where they are highest, and set a formula to assess cost-effectiveness of medicines. Announced in 2017, the new rules were scheduled to come into effect last month but have been delayed as the government reviews feedback, which has some wondering if they will ever … [Read more...] about Exclusive: Facing crackdown in Canada, drugmakers offered billions in price cuts

By Suzanne Barlyn (Reuters) - Big U.S. life insurers are bracing for elevated payouts to owners of long-term care policies, which cover expenses like assisted living for infirmed and elderly customers. Insurers that have long-term care businesses likely set aside more funds for claims on older policies during the third quarter, analysts said. Unum Group <UNM.N> said on Wednesday that it had boosted long-term care reserves by $593 million, after taxes, partly reflecting its expectation that claims would remain elevated going forward. MetLife Inc <MET.N> and Genworth Financial Inc <GNW.N> are among those scheduled to report next week. Canada's Manulife Financial Corp <MFC.TO> is due to report on Nov. 7. The pattern will continue for long-term care insurers through 2019, with many boosting reserves by at least ten percent, Fitch Ratings said in a recent report. Some insurers have been reviewing assumptions they made when writing policies many years ago, when life … [Read more...] about Long-term care policies loom over U.S. life insurance results

Wood furniture firms advised to optimise domestic materials The world’s wooden interior décor market is predicted to grow 3.5 percent in 2018 and continue expanding, bringing chances for Vietnamese businesses to raise exports of the products. If Vietnamese businesses optimise the material sources they have and make the best use of trade promotion activities, their export earnings can surpass 8 billion USD. According to Huynh Van Hanh, Vice President of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City, in the past 15 years, the wood industry has maintained the growth rate of 8-15 percent a year despite world economic fluctuation. The biggest issue of the wood processing enterprises in Vietnam is they are focusing on a market section with low added value, mostly concentrating on outsourcing for foreign clients. To further develop the domestic wood sector, the businesses should pay attention to a higher target of selling abroad the whole space of high-end … [Read more...] about BUSINESS IN BRIEF 14/6

Medicare recipients filled fewer prescriptions for pricey brand-name drugs — but spent more on such meds anyway, says a government report due out Monday. It blames rising manufacturer prices for squeezing older people and taxpayers. The Health and Human Services inspector general's office says it found a 17 percent drop in the overall number of prescriptions for brand-name medications under Medicare's "Part D" drug program over a recent five-year period. But beneficiaries' share of costs for branded drugs went in the opposite direction. From 2011 to 2015, their annual costs rose by 40 percent, from $161 in 2011 to $225 on average. Data for 2011-2015 were the most recent available for the analysis. "Increases in unit prices for brand-name drugs resulted in Medicare and its beneficiaries paying more for these drugs," said the report. Rising Medicare payments for brand-name drugs "will continue to affect Part D and its beneficiaries for years to come." From the Rose Garden on … [Read more...] about Skimping Can’t Save Seniors From Higher Medical Costs: Gov’t Report